


Tiger Mountain Peasant Song

by theneverwife



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Camping, Fluff, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-30 04:07:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12100383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theneverwife/pseuds/theneverwife
Summary: Very loosely inspired by Tiger Mountain Peasant Song by Fleet Foxes.





	Tiger Mountain Peasant Song

**Author's Note:**

> My instinct was to go darker because that's just my way, and the lyrics would've lended themselves well to that, but I wanted it to be fluffy and angsty and happy. (Though I do kind of want to write a more fitting piece for the song in the future.) So what I ended up with was a very literal interpretation.  
> Enjoy :)

Opening his eyes, the first thing Link sees is a nipple. He adjusts to the morning light slowly, allowing it to filter through his lids before setting a hand on the broad chest he’s using as a pillow.

"Mornin’,” Rhett says around a yawn.

Just the sound of his voice sends a wave of contentment through Link. He tilts his head back and blinks into the face of his best friend. Rhett is running a hand through his hair, the diffused orange light setting his curls and beard alight like a newly risen phoenix.

“I don’t remember you going to bed shirtless,” Link says as he begins pulling away, but Rhett wraps a hand around his wrist and holds it firmly in place. Link runs his fingertips over tan, freckled skin, because he’s allowed. Because they’ve both come to understand that physical doesn’t necessarily mean sexual. Goosebumps raise in the wake of his touch, and Link angles his head down to hide a satisfied smile. Hope unfurls in his chest, wrapping dangerously around his heart.

“I didn’t,” Rhett answers, “but _someone_ was all over me last night and I got hot. Had to either lose the shirt or lay outside and let wild animals eat me in my sleep.”

A cool autumn wind rattles their tent, making Link shiver. Rhett just tugs him closer, the gesture both offering and seeking warmth,and Link can’t help but comply. He scoots in, careful to keep a modicum of space between his crotch and Rhett’s thigh.  No need for Rhett to know that simply touching his bare skin has made Link semi-hard.

“Hey, man,” he says, voice raspy, “you coulda just zipped me up in my own sleeping bag like a straight jacket. I would’ve slept right through it.”

Rhett bites his lower lip, seemingly unaware of the affect that has on Link, and widens his eyes. “It’s too cold out there, Link! We had to share body heat to stay alive!”

“But you got so hot you had to strip?” he asks, tone mocking.

Rhett continues his innocent act, eyebrows arching with the effort. “Maybe I was overheating, but you weren’t. I think that’s why I couldn’t get you off me.”

Link makes a figure eight on Rhett’s pec with his index finger, accidentally-on-purpose brushing his nipple in the process. The shiver it elicits emboldens him and he scoots closer, no longer worried about Rhett feeling his erection against his thigh. Maybe he’ll be brave enough to do something about it, to cross the line. Or maybe, just maybe, Rhett will realize there never was a line to begin with.

“Oops,” Link says, voice barely more than a whisper. When he get no response he repeats the motion more deliberately, circling the areola and flicking the nub with his thumb.

Rhett’s moan fills the tent and warms Link’s whole body, sending a spike of both fear and arousal through him. For a second neither of them breathe, eyes meeting from mere inches apart. Then they both speak at once.

“Is this o—” Link begins to ask.

“Gotta get dre—” Rhett says, sitting up and freeing himself of Link’s embrace.

Link freezes over, heart pounding and head dizzy. _This isn’t right_ , he thinks, _this isn’t how this was supposed to go_. Horrified tears fill his eyes and he’s about to grab Rhett, force him to talk about it, when he notices Rhett hasn’t moved. He’s on his knees, facing the door panel of the tent, gaze locked straight ahead.

“Wha—” Link starts, turning, and the sound dies in his throat.

There’s a shadow. A figure just outside, prowling around their makeshift camp. Now that Link’s focused he hears a faint sniffing and snorting, soft paws on hard ground.

“Is that a—” he chokes out, but Rhett silences him with a look.

The taller man moves slowly backward, stretching back out atop the unfolded sleeping bag. He pulls Link down beside him and whispers, lips brushing the shell of his ear, “Stay still and quiet until it leaves.”

Link nods, putting his arm back over Rhett’s chest and trying not to yelp in surprise when Rhett slides an arm under and around him, fingers tightening on his waist. The touch is protective and possessive, and it makes Link look up at his friend once more. What he sees in Rhett’s eyes makes him forget about the danger.

The two men stay that way until long after the shadow slips quietly back into the forest.


End file.
